Robert Donovan, a senior project manager at industrial automation firm Indeff Ltd., has been awarded €67,500 by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) for constructive dismissal after his employer retaliated against him for complaining about chronic salary delays.
Tribunal Finds Performance Plan Was Orchestrated Exit Strategy
Adjudicator Lefre de Burgh ruled that placing Donovan on a performance improvement plan (PIP) constituted an “orchestrated response with exit in mind” following his complaints regarding unpaid and delayed wages. Published on Wednesday, the WRC decision awarded Donovan a full year’s salary for loss of earnings. Represented by barrister Lorna Madden, instructed by O’Donoghue and Associates Solicitors, Donovan testified that financial strain left him overdrawn regularly due to mortgage payments, car loans, grocery bills, and school expenses for his children.
The dispute escalated after Donovan emailed management on October 2nd, 2023. He noted in the correspondence that he had been paid on time only once over the preceding seven months, labeling the situation unacceptable. The following day, a senior manager identified as “BR” on the tribunal record called Donovan to state that his complaint email was unacceptable. BR directed Donovan to attend a meeting the subsequent week with the head of the firm’s Irish operation and the company’s head of human resources.
Constructive Dismissal and Employer Non-Attendance
During that subsequent meeting, management informed Donovan he was entering a PIP. Donovan maintained there was no basis for the review, stating his work performance was “blowing the doors off the hinges” and devoid of prior complaints. Finding no reality to a formal grievance when the offending behaviour emanated from the most senior people, he resigned on the spot.
Indeff Ltd., the Irish arm of a Belgian-headquartered multinational, failed to attend the WRC hearing after not establishing grounds for a requested adjournment. Adjudicator de Burgh upheld the complaint under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977, noting that uncontested evidence showed Donovan’s salary was frequently late, sometimes short, and occasionally unpaid. De Burgh concluded that this amounted to a repudiation of the employment contract, making Donovan’s decision to quit entirely reasonable.
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